The 8-8 Millard West girls basketball team took on the 11-5 Omaha Westside Warriors on Friday, Feb. 4. Both teams were coming off losses to Papillion La-Vista South. The Titans beat the Wildcats 42-34 and the Warriors 45-28. Both teams averaged the same points per game of 49.4, so even though the records look much different, the teams themselves are well matched.

“We had just come off a loss to Papio South so we were ready to get down to business and beat Westside,” sophomore Addie Klahn said. “Pregame was probably the best we had ever had so we were ready to go. Our game plan was just make sure the posts got as little touches as possible and make sure to move the ball on offense.”

The game tipped off with junior Grace Kelley nailing a wide open three pointer. A foul committed by the Warriors sent sophomore Taylor Hansen to the free throw line where she made one of two shots. A quick block by freshman Neleigh Gessert set up another wide open three pointer for freshman Norah Gessert that gave the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead. The Warriors got their first points after a shooting foul sent senior Madilyn Siebler to the free throw line where she made both of her shots. The Warriors fought back forcing multiple turnovers and taking the lead with two three pointers of their own. Junior Makenna Scholting laid in a shot after a nice assist from Kelley, and a forced turnover by Neliegh Gessert and Klahn retook the lead. The quarter ended with a two pointer from the Warriors,, and they took the lead after going into the second Warriors 12 – Wildcats 11

Millard West started off the second quarter with back-to-back lay ups from Norah Gessert and Kelley. Westside tied it up with another three pointer but the Cats answered with a three of their own. They added to their lead with one of two free throws made by Scholting.

Senior Adriana DiPrima scored five consecutive points to retake the lead. The back and forth continued with a Scholting three pointer followed by another three pointer by Warrior senior Kaitlyn Hanna. The half ended with a wide open three pointer from senior Gwen Stocker and one made free throw to tie the game. The game was tied Wildcats 26 – Warriors 26 at halftime.

“We were really happy about how we’d been playing so far,” Stocker said. “We wanted to be more aggressive on defense and get some more points off transition. We talked about a lot of end game stuff to finish them where we wanted them.”

Coming out of halftime and into the third quarter, both teams struggled to hit their shot for the first few minutes. Westside scored first, but that would be the only points they scored in the quarter; the rest was all Wildcats. Kelley and Stocker scored a three pointer each. Neliegh Gessert found her way back on the score sheet after a quiet night, and Stocker ended the quarter with yet another three pointer. After three quarters of play the score was Wildcats 37 – Warriors 28.

The fourth quarter of play mirrored the third. The Wildcats had their best quarter of the game scoring 16 points while the Warriors only scored five. Norah Gessert knocked down two free throws to add to their lead, followed by Scholting who scored another two points. Klahn scored another three and Westside answered with a quick lay up and a free throw, but, down by 17, it was all over for them. Neliegh Gessert scored another three and both teams traded lay ups to end the game.The final score was Wildcats 53 – Warriors 33

The girls would go on to take down the Gretna Dragons and the Millard North Mustangs the following week. They host their final home game on Tuesday, Feb. 15.